My suggestions: Religion, Missiles, and Fear are all you friends. Personally, I underutilize just about all of those suggestions. Also, early artifacts can make a big difference.
My biggest mistake: not backing off when I can get in trouble.
I recently lost a character on the last level of the game for the sole reason of me not waiting. That's it, all I had to do was wait and I probably would have survived.
I even more recently lost another on the second to last because even though I knew the risks I didn't back off. It's only after that I think about it, realize I had a simple solution and ignored it, and hate myself a little.
However, I've won more than once, so it's definitely possible to bash your way to victory stubbornly. Might take a few more years and since your unspoiled a few more years on top of that but it's definitely doable. In fact, in some very few ways unspoiled is better. Between my first and second win I realized that I was doing waaay too many things that were utterly unnecessary just because I knew they could be done.
Good luck.
Completed: All Races, All Classes. Twice.
Fastest Run: Dwarf Mindcrafter - 34803 turns. No wand of tele.
Challenge Games: C- CK (stupid ending), Platinum Girdle x10, Westside Story, Team Teleport - illiterate troll barb, Scroll of Omnipotence obtained
ULE - DE Archer